Casa Mono's Pan Con Tomate, One of Our 100 Favorite Dishes

There's no shortage of inventive dishes on the menu at Casa Mono -- a recent visit yielded buttermilk fried quail and crispy pork croquetas garnished with popcorn -- but as the seasons change, we remain steadfast in our love for the simplest offering: the pan con tomate. This is just griddled baguette slicked with a thin, garlic- and olive oil-enhanced tomato sauce, but the combination is more than a sum of its parts. It's a comforting snack, a celebration of good ingredients, and an enthusiastic introduction to what's always a good meal. It's best shared with a friend and consumed with a glass of wine at the bar. And you can get it at Bar Jamon, too, if Casa Mono is full.

In advance of our 2014 Best of NYC issue, we're traipsing through the boroughs and divulging our favorite dishes of the year. They're presented here as a countdown, but we're listing them in no particular order. Consider this a guide to what's good to eat in this town right this very second.